


I Love You For My Life

by tomfoolery14



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Boys In Love, Coda to 3x07, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 00:49:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14533077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomfoolery14/pseuds/tomfoolery14
Summary: Coda to 3x07Magnus asks Alec about his admission "I would've done the same thing."





	I Love You For My Life

A long, exhausting day had bled into a long, exhausting night the second Alec and Isabelle arrived with a caged and restless Jace deep under the control of the Owl. Magnus had given his word that he would do whatever it took to right his wrong concerning him, and he meant it.

That was how he found himself wide awake at half past three in the morning, standing defiantly in the middle of the room watching the way Jace was restlessly pacing. He resembled a wild creature forced into confinement for the first time. Magnus simply stared him down, still and silent.

“It makes you crazy, doesn’t it?” Jace purred coldly. “You spend all these years distancing yourself from the stain of your father’s reputation, only to aid his ally, the mother of all those who live in his realm. You can run, Magnus, but you can’t hide. Not from what you _really_ are.” Lifting his palm to press against the blue energy of the cage, Jace watched it struggle under the pressure. “You don’t have long. I sure hope you have a plan.”

Magnus didn’t give him the satisfaction of a response in any form, other than tilting his chin up defiantly.

The charged silence between them was suddenly broken by the sound of approaching footsteps; the deep, muted _thunk_ of combat boots and the gentler slide of platform heels.

“Magnus,” Alec said in greeting, lightly grabbing Magnus’ wrist.

“I’ll take over. You need to sleep.” Isabelle addressed Magnus, though she stood with her arms crossed and her gaze locked on Jace.

“Yeah, you’re looking tired, old man,” Jace challenged with a wolfish grin.

Alec’s fingers slipped from Magnus’ wrist and down his hand to tangle with his. He tugged gently but with insistence towards the master bedroom. “You’ve been up half the night. Please.”

Magnus opened his mouth to protest but Isabelle cut him off. “Go. We’ll be fine.” He hesitated a moment before relaxing his posture, rolling his shoulders back, and allowing Alec to lead him away.

As soon as his bed came into view, he was thoroughly enticed by the silk sheets awaiting him. His entire body seemed to deflate as he lowered himself onto it with a deep exhale.

“You can take a minute to breathe, baby,” Alec said solemnly, sinking to his knees to untie the laces of Magnus’ boots carefully.

“Alexander, please, I can—”

“No.” Alec looked up at him defiantly as his fingers continued their purposeful movements.

“So stubborn,” Magnus mused, a tired smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Pulling one boot off, and then the other, Alec tossed them aside haphazardly. “I think I’ve met my match.” Kicking off his own shoes, he joined Magnus on the bed, running his hands up and under the fabric of his waistcoat to push it off his shoulders. “You’d been standing out there ever since we arrived with Jace.”

“I have to atone for my actions, Alexander.” Guilt crept up Magnus’ spine as he spoke. “I further poisoned Jace’s mind, and what he does as a result is on my head.”

“Magnus.” Alec paused to lick his lips thoughtfully. “This does _not_ belong to you. This-this shame you’re putting on yourself doesn’t belong to you.”

Magnus smiled sadly, resting his palm against Alec’s cheek. To touch his love was more precious than words. “Somehow, you always find room in your heart to forgive my trespasses.” He paused for a moment, thinking back to earlier in the day at the Institute. “Today, when Clary told you about the wish she compelled from Raziel, you said you would have done the same.”

Alec nodded sagely. “I did.”

“I like to think I know you well, but you subverted my expectations. I anticipated you would come down hard on Clary for her actions,” Magnus said carefully. “The position she put you in, as head of the Institute, will have multifarious consequences at best, and yet…”

“Before you, I would have been incapable of understanding her choice. I would have said she was being a child, putting love before duty. I don’t know if I would have handed her over to the Gard, but I wouldn’t have been able to lie for her.” Trailing his thumb along Magnus’ cheekbone, Alec gave him a soft smile. “I know now, though, why people do what they do for love. Why they lay down their lives for their love without a thought for what they’re risking.”

Magnus swallowed the lump rising in his throat with difficulty. How long had been mourning what had never been his at all? How many heartbreaks had he endured by grasping desperately at the hope that someone was out there, someone who would love him in return? How often had he wondered _when will it be my turn?_ And now that he had it, now that Alec had given him exactly what he wished for, he didn’t know what to do with it.

He shook his head slightly in disbelief. “Alec…”

“I told you, I’ve always dreamed of meeting someone like you. I’ve waited so long, and spent a lot of time thinking I would have to wait forever, but then you came along.” Alec leveled their gazes, ensuring that Magnus could look nowhere else but into his eyes. “And now that I have you, this extraordinary love, I know for a fact that I would do exactly what Clary did if it were your life in the balance. Today, tomorrow, and always, I would choose you.”

“In the name of transparency,” Magnus hedged softly, “I would do the same for you. I would give anything to make sure you were safe. No matter the price. I know what it’s like to have the one you love ripped away, and the worst part about it is knowing that they have been touched by darkness and pain. I won’t let it have you.”

“I love you. More than anything,” Alec insisted.

“I love you too.” It was a love that exceeded the vastness of the cosmos and the beauty of the world’s seven wonders, and nothing was going to take that love from him.

Not the Owl, not Lilith, and certainly not his father.

**Author's Note:**

> come find me at champagnemagnus.tumblr.com!


End file.
